Give an inch, take a mile
by CO Raven
Summary: Kratos knew that to save the worlds, he'd have to make sacrifices. Every time, it seemed that fate took what he was going to offer and then some. Every sin over his 4000 year life was being paid for, all over the course of one lousy journey.
1. Pride

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS. Namco does, but we all knew that, right?

Let's get started then. This series is called Give an inch, take a mile. Kratos always knew he was going to have to make sacrifices to save the world, but he never knew how much. This is not chronological but based on what he's giving up.

The first is pride.

--

Pride. As Lloyd and the rest of the group approached Origin's seal in the Torrent forest, Kratos knew that he'd be giving it up. He just didn't know how much. He could only hope that Lloyd had the guts to do what had to be done.

"So, you've come," Kratos began in a neutral tone. It was best to get things moving quickly. The sooner this was over, the better. Such hopes were dashed as Lloyd began his speech about no sacrifices.

"If you want the pact with Origin, you must defeat me," Kratos said firmly, cutting his son off. Lloyd thought about it for a moment. Kratos smiled inwardly. Thinking was good. It helped people not do stupid things.

"So… That's your way," Lloyd said, then glanced back to his friends, "Guys, leave this to me!" Okay. The previous train of thought was shattered. Thinking was now bad. Resisting the urge to bury his face in his hands, Kratos attempted to subtly sway his son toward a saner course of action.

"You're going to fight alone?" Kratos asked, using the tone that he usually used to make Lloyd think twice about a rash decision. It had worked before, so why not now? That delusion was dashed too as Lloyd broke into his "my duty as your son to see things through" speech. The seraph reluctantly drew Flamberge. It wasn't as though he had much choice now.

"I'm not going to hold back this time," Kratos said, trying to sound as serious as possible. In his mind, he knew it was a downright lie. If he went full power, the world was screwed. In reality, the concept of Lloyd winning was a real laugh. In fact, all of them coming at him at once was a laugh too. He'd knock Lloyd flat on hit butt less than a month ago, not after a fight, not after a tech, but after drawing his sword. In fact, it wasn't even Flamberge but a regular long sword, kind of like the one he used at the Iselia chapel. At the same time, none of the people in Lloyd's group were dramatically stronger than him except maybe Regal if he ditched the handcuffs. Even then, they weren't in the same league. His train of thought was interrupted.

"I know. I won't either," Lloyd replied, sounding confident that he would win. He drew out the Angel's Tears and charged straight ahead. Kratos shook his head. Had Lloyd learned nothing from their training sessions or their battles during their journey? He jumped up to deliver a double overhead slash. Apparently he hadn't as though the attack was strong, it left no defense and a huge target. Kratos rammed Flamberge's hilt into Lloyd's stomach and booted him back to where the spectators stood. This really wasn't working.

"You're neglecting defense," Kratos rebuked. Okay. It was time to set some ground rules. No flying, no teleporting, no Judgment, no instant casting, almost no instant knockdown recovery… That was good enough, right? Again Lloyd charged recklessly and was sent sailing back with a Super Sonic Thrust. Scratch that thought and add only using around half the Hp he had in his held back state, no healing, no Guardian, almost no guarding for that matter, no overlimit, and most of all, the use of horrid swordplay.

"Rising Falcon!"

Kratos' eyes widened slightly. This was certainly new. Lloyd leapt back into the air and hovered for a moment before somehow propelling himself forward with rapid speed. Not that the move was bad or slow, but it wasn't near quick enough to make a seraph panic. Still, Kratos purposely blocked too high and was knocked off his feet. Lloyd spun around.

"Raging Beast!"

A bright blue force erupted from Lloyd's twin swords, sending Kratos skidding along the ground. The angel slowly got to his feet and began to chant. A brown rune appeared at his feet. Lloyd sprinted at him full speed.

"Grave!"

Kratos released the spell and smiled at his handiwork. He'd neglected to put a lead on the spell, so as long as Lloyd kept running...

"Rising Falcon!"

Lloyd rose up into the air and was impaled by five stone spikes. Kratos began casting Air Thrust. Now only about two feet away, all Lloyd had to do was get up and start slashing away like he usually did. In fact, all he had to do was not use-

"Rising Falcon!"

Kratos tried to delay his spell, but it was too late. Whether he said the words or not, he'd already let go.

"Air Thrust!"

Lloyd was caught in the vortex and tosses around a bit before being spit out at Kratos' feet. The angel punted him over to Origin's seal to let him recover. Lloyd used a miracle gel from his pack and charged once more.

An hour or so of fighting passed, and Kratos was sure that Lloyd was running out of gels. It was time for a refill. Using Demon Spear, he sent Lloyd sailing over Origin's seal, away from prying eyes and discreetly stuffed a few gels into Lloyd's pack in between punches. Soon it was full again. Several more hours passed and several more refills took place. Finally, Kratos had takes enough visible damage to claim defeat even though he was perfectly fine. In reality he'd had to do most of it by using Wind Blade on himself when no one could see. Purposely flinching, he let Lloyd send him crashing to the ground with a Heavy Tiger Blade. He slowly made his way to his feet.

"You've… grown strong, Lloyd," Kratos commented, half telling the truth, half lying. Lloyd was a world stronger than he had been when he started the journey, but that was still nothing compared to a seraph with over 4000 years of experience. Faking heavy breathing, he got up and ambled over to Origin's seal.

"Wait! You can't just-" Lloyd started.

"This is what you wanted, is it not?" Kratos asked as he summoned his angel wings and purged his body of mana. He had swallowed his pride and had let it drop to an all time low for the sake of saving the world. He had accumulated a lot of bad karma over his life, and it was all coming back to bite him at once. He fell. At least it was over now. Death was coming, and he'd paid for his sins as much as he could. At least he could pride himself that he died to save the world. Something caught him. Kratos cracked his eyes open and saw Yuan. That last shred of pride he had left was unceremoniously ripped away. He gave Yuan a death glare and sighed inwardly. He'd never planned to have his pride crash nearly this badly. Fate had just had other ideas.

Give an inch, take a mile. It was so true.

--

Well, so it begins. Review if you feel like it.


	2. Freedom

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS. Namco does.

The next item on Kratos' "to lose list" is freedom. This one is a bit short, but it fits. I know some of it is out of order, but it made it funnier.

--

Kratos may not have enjoyed his 4000 years of life nor approved of what he did, but he did have freedom. True, he did have to check in with Mithos every once in a while, but that still allowed him to roam as he pleased. No one really cared. Now he approached the Iselia chapel on foot under the guise of a mercenary. This was one of the few times he actually had to do something specific. It was simple. Guide the new Chosen along and release the seals again. Then slip away before Mithos exploded like he did the last time a Chosen's body had rejected Martel's soul. It was a fairly simple process that he did every couple hundred years since he took turns with Yuan.

Hearing a scuffle going on at the top, Kratos quickened his pace. It was most likely the Renegades again. One very large one called Vidarr towered above several children, swinging his ball and chain. Several more stood in back, flanking their leader, Botta. With a simple slash, he sent the bulky renegade flying back. One of the children, one with wooden swords and red clothes got up, holding them in an awkward attacking stance.

"Get out of the way," Kratos ordered as he dashed forward to pursue the renegade while he was recovering. Channeling some mana into his sword, he drove the tip into Vidarr's shoulder. The giant let out a scream of pain and anger, swinging his hammer down on the smaller, swifter man. By the time the hammer hit the ground, Vidarr had a sword through the back of his head. Kratos yanked it out and flicked the blood off.

"I never expected that you'd show up," Botta muttered angrily as he and the rest of his renegades retreated. Kratos didn't give chase as getting the Chosen moving along was of more importance right now than chasing after small fry like Botta. He was a puppet that was easy to track, and a puppet like that made finding the master easy too. Maybe he'd get around to that after this journey was over.

"This guy is incredibly strong," praised one of the kids, the short one. He had unruly white hair and a kendama in his hand. It was good for channeling mana, but a staff was better in Kratos' opinion since it could be also used as a good melee weapon in the hands of a skilled fighter. For such things, a kendama was useless. It was also obvious to anyone who could feel mana that he was a half elf. The kid in red muttered a grudging agreement. There was an awkward silence. Kratos' eyes fell on a young girl with long blonde hair and a clueless looking smile on her face.

"So, this girl is the Chosen," Kratos observed. In actuality, he'd heard nothing to even give him that impression, but none of the kids looked smart enough to figure that out. Maybe the old lady in front of the chapel might, but he could always find a way to lie his way out.

"The Chosen was to take the trial and receive judgment from heaven, but the priests that were to accompany her were killed by the desians," the old lady explained. This was perfect.

"I see. As long as you can pay me, I will accept the job of guarding the Chosen." Kratos offered.

"With, the current conditions, we have little choice. Please be of service," the old lady answered.

"Wait! We want to come too! We aren't going to let Colette get sent off with someone we just met!"

Kratos turned. It was the boy in red. The Chosen's name must be Colette.

"You should go home," the mercenary advised. The Regeneration wasn't a pretty journey, and the less people involved, the better. There was a tug on his sleeve. It was the Chosen.

"Um… Mr., I get nervous when Lloyd isn't around." This was just- wait. Memories flooded Kratos' mind as he pieced events together, his son falling off the cliff near the Iselia Ranch, the face, the attitude.

"Your name is Lloyd." It was more of a clarification than anything else.

"Yeah, but who are you to ask for my name?" the kid shot back.

"I am Kratos, a mercenary." Kratos replied. He might as well give a name. Then he wouldn't be pestered for it. He walked into the chapel, beckoning for the Chosen to follow.

"Go home, Lloyd. This is dangerous."

Somehow, Kratos got the feeling that this wouldn't work.

"Fine. I'll just follow on my own, then."

Kratos eyed the boy, then the Chosen who had a pleading look on her face and sighed. He didn't have much choice for now. The last Chosen had committed suicide, though other sources claimed it was the desians. Mithos wasn't happy then, and he'd be even angrier now if it happened again.

"Do as you wish," Kratos said reluctantly.

"Yeah! This is going to be exciting! Come on, Genis!"

Lloyd and Genis scampered after the mercenary.

"This isn't a field trip."

Kratos got the feeling that he was going to have those kids attached to him for a while. Luckily, he had a plan.

Later, it was all set. He'd ditched Lloyd and Genis at the chapel and was at the Chosen's house with the mayor and some others. The kids came barging in.

"It's settled, then. We shall entrust the care of the Chosen to Kratos and Raine," the mayor announced. He may not have been bright, but such people had their uses.

"Great! I want to come and see Colette regenerate the world!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"If Raine is going, I'm going too!" Genis followed up.

"No. The battles at the chapel were nothing compared to what we will face during the journey. Go home," Kratos advised in a final tone. He gave the mayor a death glare. Three… two… one…

"Kratos is absolutely right. You two should go on home," The mayor backed him up. Kratos allowed himself an inward smile as the two walked out.

A few days later, Kratos, Raine, and Colette were crossing the Triet desert, on the way to the Ossa Trail. Genis came running up to them, panting heavily. Just great. What was he doing here?

"Lloyd got captured by the desians!!"

As the half elf poured out his story, Kratos paled. Their little group was getting visitors, permanent ones. He'd have to see them every day until the journey was over, and that took months. He gazed up at the Tower of Salvation in the distance. It had never looked so far away before.

--

That's it for now. Review if you feel like it. I wonder what will be lost next.


	3. His virgin eyes

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS Namco does.

Kratos is going to lose his virgin eyes next in one of the cruelest ways possible. Hit the man when he's down.

-- Directly follows Kharlan War --

Kratos had never thought he had virgin eyes. After all, he was a mercenary by profession. It was his job to kill people or kill people who were after someone he was hired to protect. He often had less skilled co-workers killed on the job. Still, he was detached, so death was never so close to home. That was, until a certain human did something unforgivable. They had just finished the stupid war by the force of the summon spirits and the newly forged Eternal Sword. Now Martel lay in a pool of her own blood on the ground. In front of her was Abyssion, an ally during the war who was known simply as "the devil". In his hand was Fafnir, dripping with blood. Mithos stared down at his sister with a comatose gaze. Yuan charged a ball of electricity in his hand.

"How dare you strike Martel down?! The war is over!" Yuan raged. He fired and Abyssion sidestepped it, laughing. Dodging at such close range would have been near impossible for him before, but now, now was entirely different. He felt so empowered, invincible.

"I am invincible now! Why settle for peace when we can win the war? That naïve fool on the ground there couldn't realize that," Abyssion said coolly. When he mentioned being invincible, Kratos eyed the new weapon on his back, the Soul Eater. That wasn't the only one either. There was also the Apocalypse greaves. That made nine, the complete set of the Devil's Arms. That wasn't good.

"I see you just noticed my complete set," Abyssion taunted. Kratos sheathed his stiletto and drew Flamberge. This was no longer a matter of whether they could win or not. It was a matter of stopping what needed to be stopped. Seeing that his words were falling of deaf ears, Abyssion exchanged Fafnir for the twin swords Nebilim and charged, darting from left to right and back again.

"Hell Pyre!"

Kratos leapt back, firing a burst of flame. The devil kept on coming, not even fazed. Seeing this, Yuan leapt into the air and pulled Swallow off his back.

"Thunder Explosion!"

Yuan landed, emitting a blast of lightning that knocked Abyssion back. He recovered quickly and cast a complex spell… almost instantly. Kratos saw a dark circle make its way around him and ran.

"Indignation"

There was a crash of thunder as the ground was torn apart by the sheer force of the spell. Shaking off the shower of rocks, Kratos got up and charged.

Nearly an hour later, Abyssion was beaten down after numerous Indignations, Judgments, Shining Binds, and Origins. Origin had stopped time briefly to let Mithos talk to Martel before she died. Now bordering on insanity, Mithos announced his age of lifeless beings plan. Kratos and Yuan looked at each other. Some serious warping of words was going on here. Still it would probably be best to let it all ride over.

A month later, they were up in Vinheim, right outside Mithos' room, with "angels" floating about everywhere. As far as Kratos and Yuan were concerned, this was most likely not what Martel had in mind when she said she wanted a world without discrimination.

"We'll just talk to him about it. He can't have gone that far off the deep end yet," Yuan murmured to Kratos.

"I don't think so. He's lost it. I'm going to start fixing things even if it takes me four thousand years," Kratos replied. It was then that Mithos came out, revealing his new form to everyone.

"You will all now refer to me as Lord Yggdrasil."

Eyes went from the rainbow wings to the long girlish blonde hair to the spandex to the extremely large cut in the chest area of his clothes.

Yuan looked away in time. Kratos' eyes burned. At that time, Yuan realized that the situation was far worse than he had first imagined. Kratos was so traumatized that he followed orders like a machine for nearly 4000 years after that. Later on, both would look back at the irony of their words. The damage done during that time would later be repaired as much as possible but Kratos never did rid himself of that mental image.

He had walked into adult life understanding that he'd see things that he would rather not have seen. He accepted seeing Martel's death and thought that the world couldn't possibly deal him something worse. He was wrong. Give an inch, take a mile.

--

I have a couple other ideas for this that are far better than this one but this was already half typed up… so it ended up getting posted anyway.


	4. Life

Disclaimer: I don't own TOS. Namco does.

Let's begin, shall we? Kratos is about to lose his life.

--

From his seat on a random bench in Iselia, Kratos sighed. Origin's seal had been released. Mithos' chaos had been stopped. The worlds were whole once more. All was well… except the fact that he had no idea what he was going to do now. Everything had revolved around the Kharlan War at first, then Mithos' dream, then Anna, then Lloyd and fixing all of the damage Mithos had done. All that was done, so now what to do? In all honesty, he'd planned to die releasing Origin's seal and leave everything to Lloyd from there on. Of course, that wasn't the case thanks to Yuan. Then he planned to go to Derris Kharlan and help rid the world of exspheres by taking them off the angels and taking the desians with him to possibly ease the discrimination of half elves slightly. Then within a month, Yuan dragged him back to the world now called Aselia and took his place in Derris Kharlan. Plus, the renegades had already dealt with all the other exspheres, leaving no goal there either. As a result, here he was, sitting on a bench with no further goal in life.

"This is sad. I've already done everything I can think of and got bored over it during the past 4000 years…" Kratos complained. He'd mastered swords, magic, angelic, ninja arts in Mizuho, mathematics, physics, astronomy, history, strategy, chemistry, biology, computers, gambling, literature, and about every weapon known to man. Yes, even the kendama if that even qualified as a weapon. The list just went on and on. What else was there?

Looking out at the sea, he remembered how Lloyd had rambled on before about dragging him off to sail around the world. By all standards, the seraph found the idea fairly boring… Wait. Was that a sail? Looking closer, Kratos was sure. It was a sail and Lloyd was walking over to him.

"Heh. He was serious after all," Kratos murmured. Lloyd had actually held onto the idea and completed it without getting bored and quitting. It was a miracle.

"Hey, Kratos, I just finished the boat. Want to come and sail around the world with me?" Lloyd offered with a smile.

"Sorry but I find no interest in it. I've already been around the world many times over. Going again would be pointless," Kratos declined. At that moment, a certain someone realized that the seraph had returned from Derris Kharlan and came speeding towards them. It was Raine… and she was holding something. Kratos' eyes widened.

"A scalpel…"

It took a second to sink in. Raine was running towards him with a scapel. He was an angel, the only angel left. That made him endangered, right? Endangered and-

"A RARE SPECIMEN! I MUST DISSECT YOU!!"

That snapped Kratos out of thought and into survival mode. Without hesitation, he sprinted for the boat, dragging Lloyd along with him.

"Actually, I'd love to come with you. How about we go now? Objections? No? Good," Kratos shot off as he made a beeline for the boat. Lloyd had no time to even protest as he was tossed in haphazardly while Kratos pushed them offshore and hopped in himself.

"Um… Kratos, you don't mind having another guest, do you?" Lloyd asked.

Kratos whirled around to see Raine safely on the shoreline five feet away from them, having a tantrum over her lost specimen. Then who was it? Kratos slowly turned around

"Please be Sheena. Please be Sheena… or Genis… or be Regal, even Zelos! Just not-" Kratos thought frantically.

"Hi, Mr. Kratos!"

It was Colette. There was a crash, a trip. Kratos looked down and saw blue. Blue was not good. That was the color of- SPLASH! Great. Now he was waist deep in salty sea water and an anger mark was growing on his head.

"How can you break a boat by tripping?" Kratos seethed.

"Well, she broke the school that way too. We got the whole day off!" Lloyd piped up. Climbing back up and patching the hole, Kratos just sulked in the corner. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Raine following them on the shore. He had a Colette at sea and a Raine by land. Maybe he'd just wait I out. Colette would die in a hundred years or so and Raine in a couple thousand. Then he'd have peace- Wait. Colette had a cruxis crystal, so did she stop aging too? Man, when he'd said he'd give his life, he meant that he'd die for the cause, not live in eternal torment. Such thoughts were disrupted as there was another crash. Colette had tripped again. Looking at his feet, he saw that a puddle was spreading…again. Kratos just sighed. It was the story of his life.

"Give an inch, take a mile…"

--

Normally, this would have been the last one but I will most likely write a few more for this series.


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